Here's part of an article from The Gazette about some retail news downtown

"Pieces of the downtown retail puzzle are starting to fall into place. Caban, a lifestyle emporium, is closing at the corner of McGill College Ave. and Ste. Catherine St. in early April, said Rachel Woodman, marketing manager for the company in New York. A final clearance sale, now in progress, features spring stock priced at 20 to 30 per cent off.

Woodman confirmed that Caban, the home division of Club Monaco, is for sale. Eight stores in Canada are currently listed on the company's website. Ralph Lauren acquired Club Monaco, founded by Toronto's Joe Mimran, in 2000. Woodman said the closing of the Montreal store is not related to the sale of the company.

The closing frees up prime retail space downtown that could be attractive to the major clothing chains entering the Montreal market.
Banana Republic is a potential tenant at the 18,000-square-foot, beautifully restored Laurentian Bank, retail sources have said.

Meanwhile, Dynamite, the Montreal-based chain selling moderately priced clothing, is negotiating for the Bank of Nova Scotia premises at Peel and Ste. Catherine Sts. The bank is closing in April. Dynamite operates 126 Garage stores, geared to teenagers, and another 76 Dynamite outlets, targeting young career women.

And H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion behemoth, is still scouring downtown for a location. The biggest problem is size, said Lucy van der Wal, Canadian manager for the chain. H&M would like a full-concept store, requiring about 30,000 square feet. That's proving tough to find, van der Wal said.
H&M has confirmed March 30 as the opening date for Fairview Pointe Claire, the first of its four suburban stores. Three others, at Rockland, Laval and Anjou, will open in the following weeks."

im not a big fan of Dynamite... its okay sometimes if you need something for one occasion, but overall its bad quality. and i hope Banana Republic doesnt get the Caban space, cant stand that overpriced crappy store either! we could have like a TopShop, just like in the UK!

i'm so happy that h&m is finally here! i've seen so many neat pieces from mystylediary..now i can finally get my hands on them!

the only problem is i don't really know how to get there . is there anyway i can get to them by metro without taking another bus? i live on the south shore so i'm not used to taking the buses downtown.

Worst place in Montreal for shopping during the summer: downtown.... everyone is looking original with their flip flops, denim skirts, leggings, oversized sunglasses and aldo inspired balenciaga bag...